Both Strombergs are leaking fuel after getting my 1970 OTS back on the road for the spring. One a bit more than the other but basically the same. The car started and ran fine but I could smell gas later that night in the garage. There are some fuel droplets above the chamber plug on the bottom of the float chamber but nothing above the gasket. I’ve ordered up the gaskets and new o rings for the plug while I’m at it. My plan is to just remove the air cleaner housing and replace the gaskets with the carbs in place. Being kind of new to this I’m wondering if anyone has advice for this repair. Am I better off removing the carbs from the car?
Thanks in advance.
I have removed the float bowl on my '68 with the carbs still in place. It is a little more fiddly than with the carbs removed from the car. Removing the carbs as a set by un-doing the 8 manifold nuts is not bad either and might be the better way if you think they are likely to benefit from a good cleaning and float level adjustment. Check to see if you have hollow floats and if they have any fuel inside. My experience is the hollow plastic floats are prone to leak.
David
68 E-type FHC
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As Dave stated, it can be done in situ.
That said, I just had a float sink, so check to make sure they float properly.
I changed the stock flat-head screws that secure the float bowls with socket-head cap screws - this makes the R&R with the carbs mounted much easier (can use a little right angle screwdriver):
Ace Hardware had the screws I needed.
The original floats can leak and get fuel in them so it may be worth your while to just replace them with a set made with Nitrophyl. At the very least shake the ones you take off and see if you can hear fuel inside them. I suspect you will.
This is also an opportunity to adjust the float level. Like removal, that is just a little trickier with the carbs in place as you have to lift them up gently rather than turning the carb over and letting gravity bring them to rest.
Another possible source of that leak could be the o-ring on the brass plug:
Since it just takes a second to swap on a new one you might want to do that too.
When you think about it… I believe the float bowl gasket is above the ‘water line’ in a correctly adjusted and operating carb so the persistent leak you describe may suggest either a fuel level too high (sunk float) or failed o-ring on the plug.
There goes any JCNA concours d’arrogance wins for you, bub!
Tony,
As your car is a 1970 model, rather than a 68 or 69 you may find that you do not have the screw-in brass plug as shown here, but instead the later push-in plastic plug. It still uses an O-ring to seal but, from what I’ve read, the plastic plugs have a reputation of being more prone to leaking than their earlier brass counterparts.
-David
Any of the methods chosen to remove/replace the bowls when in-situ is further complicated if the carb’s have been fitted with the J Curto adjustable jet, which requires centering when being refitted.
I’m thinking the best route is to remove the two carbs from the manifold so I can check the floats. will I need to renew all four gaskets and the 2 insulators? or just the two gaskets on the carb side? Also, do these gaskets go back dry or is there some liquid or sealant involved?
Whether you can reuse the gaskets will depend largely on what the last guy used on them. There’s a good chance the insulator will be reusable.
I can only speak for myself, but I used a bit of Hylomar – seals w/o ever setting up or hardening.
Take pictures and pay attention to which way 'round the gaskets go.
Last time I did carb removal for cleaning and refurbishment with a carb kit the manifold gaskets looked OK for re-use. As Geo indicates this most likely depends on age of the ones you are working with. When putting things back together I did not use any type of sealant on my gaskets. To me it seemed like pretty straight forward stuff. I was a bit nervous since I had never messed with constant depression type carbs but found the ZS to be more simple inside than I was initially expecting.
David
68 E-type FHC
Ok, I’ve finally got all my gaskets and floats delivered. Is there any need to drain the oil out of the dampers before I invert the carbs on the bench ?
Other than it will drain out, when you invert them…